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Forshame the Foursquare bib bandit

Dennis CrowleyIt’s not hard to guess what motivated Chelsea Crowley to counterfeit a bib and illegally run the 2014 Boston Marathon. Like any of the bandits that jump into the historic event every year, the Foursquare CEO’s wife wanted to be part of an experience steeped in history and mythology. She wanted to stand at the start line in Hopkinton, run through the “tunnel of noise” at Wellesley, face Heart Break Hill in Newton and cross the blue and yellow painted finish line on Boyston St. But the only work she wanted to do for it was trawl Instagram and get creative with Photoshop.

It’s not shocking that people like Chelsea Crowley would seek to be part of the event without qualifying. What differentiates her from most of the other bandits that day was a deep seeded sense of entitlement and disregard for the person who actually earned the bib number that she stole. Now, Crowley and her husband have become the targets of online vitriol of runners who had earned their way to Boston by doing it the old fashioned way – by working for it. And rightfully so.

It’s hard to discern whether it was her and her multi-millionaire husband’s wealth alone or a potent combination of fiscal success and the arrogance that can be borne out of power that brought Chelsea Crowley to forge a bib. Undoubtedly, their rationale will be lost in the canned morality play that started with a tactical apology to the BAA and will very likely end with another generous donation. Even though she couldn’t buy her way into the race, she’s now trying to buy her way out of her out of this situation. One thing, however, is abundantly clear: they weren’t shy about brazenly sharing their experience on Twitter. In an era where everything associated with the Boston Marathon is for sale on eBay to the highest bidder – from jackets to shirts, to finisher’s medals – I began to wonder: were her actions really all that bad?

Absolutely.

Choosing to race with a forged bib does matter and not just to the athletes who lined up beside them on Patriot’s Day but to the myriad of Boston alumni who consider their participation in this race their singular moment of athletic significance. It’s also an insult to the race itself.

The Boston Marathon is as hard and calloused as the people who populate the city the other 364 days of the year. It’s a course where dreams of PB’s go to die and hubris wilts into suffering a few hundred metres after Wellesley College. It isn’t a race for the faint of heart and it’s not a walking tour of the five boroughs, like the New York Marathon has become for many. It’s a physical and emotional reckoning that often causes even the most prepared to crumple.

Chelsea Crowley didn’t just demean the race – she undermined the spirit of the race itself.

Boston is the only major American race that bases participation on merit and, while Chicago and New York maintain brisk time standards for guaranteed entry, people fortunate enough to win the lottery fill out the vast majority of each field.

Whether you’re a charity runner or a qualifier, you’ve got to earn your bib for the Boston Marathon.

The one key concept that Chelsea Crowley didn’t understand is that, for most runners, Boston represents not so much an accomplishment but a denouement. It’s not about running the Boston Marathon as much as it is about qualifying for the privilege. It’s why athletes wear their medals around town after they cross the finish line and why former Boston runners still wear their jackets and T-shirts years after their race.

Chelsea Crowley’s decision to shamelessly put herself in an event where she didn’t belong made light of the race, denigrated the spirit of those who have raced it, and, perhaps most importantly, scorned the desire of people who work so hard to qualify but didn’t make the cut.

 

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